That hasn’t been the smoothest of operations with the outstanding form of holding midfielders John Fleck and Romain Vincelot and City’s surfeit of loan players restricting him to ten appearances since he arrived in November.

But he reminded fans of his potential with an impressive contribution to Saturday’s 0-0 draw at Gillingham, playing centre right in a revamped 4-3-3 formation, and he is hoping for more opportunities in the last half-dozen games of the season.

“It’s been a mixed spell,” he admitted. “I came back here expecting the club to do well and expecting to help with that.

“To be honest I have been of the standard I expect from myself but as the weeks have gone by I think I have started showing what I can do.

“It’s been difficult but I knew when I came here about the loan position. The manager spoke to me and told me the situation and at that time I just needed a fresh start.

“It’s hard to be patient but sometimes you have to do that in football – and thank God it seems that my patience is paying off now.

“It’s the first time we have played that formation with three in the middle and it’s opened up an opportunity for me and I am grateful.

“I thought we played well at Gillingham and this formation is giving us a balance to not concede as many goals and then, at the same time, when we are winning give the two midfielders the freedom to run forward.

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“It’s a good formation if we work hard and stick to our game plan and hopefully we will get a result with it.

“When I first broke through I played in a diamond more on the right where I needed to go forward and get back, tuck in, so it was a position where you needed a lot of energy and stamina, put a shift in for the team, but, at the same time, be good on the ball .

“I might not look like a box-to-box player but I am a player who has to have freedom to move places and get on the ball in different areas of the pitch.

“At Gillingham I was playing in a similar position, albeit a different formation,

“I would say that’s probably my best position, as a No.8, but nowadays as a No.8 you need to get goals and hopefully they will start coming the more and more opportunities I get to go forward because you can’t score goals as a sitting midfielder.

“But if the manager asks me to do any job it’s all about the team.”

Gael Bigirimana and Burton's Damien McCrory

Bigirimana’s first appearance in his second spell at Coventry was as a substitute in the 4-1 rout of Gillingham that put them top of the League One table and he shares the general sense of disbelief at how their form has dipped so spectacularly that they are now rank outsiders for a play-off place.

“The position we were in we never thought we would end up here,” he said, “but the goals just dried up and that can happen to any team.

“We can’t just throw the towel in because any team in this league can pick up the momentum and go three or five games winning on the bounce and that’s the belief we have got to have, keep playing until the end of the season.”

The Sky Blues were hopeful that Bigirimana would be able to negotiate a deal with Newcastle that would allow him to write off the last year and a half of his contract and join full-time rather than stay on loan but, as things stand, he will be back on Tyneside when he celebrates his 23rd birthday in July.

Unlike Adam Armstrong he hasn’t had talks with new Toon boss Rafa Benitez, explaining: “the club is under a lot of pressure and he has to concentrate on what he has to do and then we’ll see at the end of the season.

Newcastle United's Gael Bigirimana

“I keep my eye on how they are doing but my concentration is here at Coventry, trying to fight to get in the play-offs.”

The assumption is that Benitez is unlikely to remain in post if Newcastle do slip into the Championship which would mean yet another new boss deciding whether he wants to keep Bigirimana on board at St James’ Park.

“That’s in the hands of the future,” said the deeply religious player; “ I trust God for whatever happens.

“If they don’t want me then I am, in a sense, a free agent player even though I will be in my last year of my contract.

“ I just want to be somewhere where I will get games and be trusted by a manager who will believe in who I am

Gael Bigirimana

“I need a manager who will give me a chance and respect me for who I am as a player and what I can do.

“That’s what every player needs and wherever I will be will be with whichever manager will offer me that.

“If the gaffer here truly means he wants to give me a stage where I can perform, and if this is the only place that offers me that then I haven’t got any choice. All I need to do is take each day as it comes so we will see.

“The sad thing is the games are running out the more I am playing regularly and my standards ares coming back to where I want it to be. But hopefully in these last six games I can get a run and help get some results and enjoy my football again.”